10 Video Games That Were Sold On Stupid Gameplay Gimmicks
3. Moonwalking - Michael Jackson's Moonwalker
Back in the 80s, Michael Jackson was everywhere. With his likeness being plastered on any old tat and then sold off to his rabid fans to the tune of big bucks, some genius at SEGA decided that they wanted a piece of a pie, and got a team to work on a video game tie-in to Jackson's upcoming movie, Moonwalker.
The general structure is the same as any other bog-standard side-scrolling beat-em-up, only that here, keeping on-brand, the developers made each one of Jackson's attacks one of his signature dance moves. From a stylized high kick to yes, of course, the Moonwalk, all of Jackson's gimmicks were crowbarred into the game, whether they made sense or not.
It didn't make for a particularly enjoyable experience in the long run, with the combat and levels barely scraping by to be passable, but it sure was fun. Seeing MJ immortalised in video game form - during one of his most successful eras no less - is pretty damn cool in the grand scheme of things, and is a great testament to what the industry used to be, and what it is now.
Shame the Moonwalker film itself turned out so bad, though.